The Song Of Sword And Magic

Chapter 14: The Fog

[Translator — Asuka ]

[Proofreader — Karane]

Princess Merry moved along White River and surpassed all other ships. All the while, the sails were pushed forward by the wind. To the seamen’s surprise, the direction of the wind seemed to have matched the direction they were heading. 

“Are all of you the servants of the River God? It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like this after years of sailing on the sea,” the chief mate teased the mercenary and his companions. 

“That’s because you’re not faithful enough,” Rae said with an impassive expression. Her eyes were fixed on the waterway in front of her. 

“Miss, you’re wrong to say that. How do you know I’m not faithful enough?” The chief mate became energetic because a beautiful magician was willing to respond to him.

Ignoring him, Rae yawned and said to her companions, “I’ll take a rest.”

“I have to take a rest as well. I woke up pretty early today to look for a ship. Be careful.” Stan nodded at Fern. 

Meanwhile, Fern was keeping watch on his surroundings on the deck. He couldn’t set his mind at ease. Niss was seated beside him as she closed her eyes and meditated. On the other hand, Rae and Stan went to the cabin to have a rest. Although they were already far from Wet Port, Fern still dared to not put his guard down. Not only did he have to be wary of the Dark Tide, but he also had to beware of the seamen. He saw two seamen, a bearded middle-aged man and a younger man with long hair, who kept staring at Niss.

The sun at noon was so warm that Fern almost fell asleep. Niss stood up and said that she had to go to the cabin as well. Fern nodded and blinked his eyes to energize himself. Then, he looked ahead and realized that the ship was moving slower than before. Turning around, he saw that the sails were not fully pushed forward by the wind like before.

“Did Niss do it?” Fern now gained a new understanding of magic. 

After a peaceful day, Princess Merry sailed past Whitewater Bend with ease. It was mainly thanks to Niss’s help. At the moment, all of them were seated in the dining hall to have their dinner. While the others were talking about the war in Doyle, Niss seemed to be knackered.

“Are you suffering from seasickness?” Fern asked caringly. 

Niss rested her head on her left palm and flashed a smile at him. “No, Rae’s method is effective.” Upon finishing her words, she took out the petal from her mouth. “I just spent too much energy to steer the ship out of Whitewater Bend. I’ll be alright after a night’s sleep.”

“Oh, it’s a peacebloom petal. I’ve forgotten about it. Fortunately, Rae knows this method as well.” Fern looked thankfully at Rae, who went on to have her food nonchalantly.

“Magic is really wonderful. Today I’ve seen how powerful it can be.” Even when Stan was having a casual chat, his posture remained upright, and his expression was solemn.

“Although magic is powerful, it takes a lot of our energy to use it. So, we won’t use magic unless it’s necessary,” Rae explained. 

Upon hearing that, Fern thought of something and rose from the chair. Then, he looked out at the corridor outside the dining hall, and upon making sure that there was no one around, he closed the door. After standing by the door for a while, he then returned to his seat. “Rae, you haven’t told us what happened in Canreto.”

“I thought you were not going to ask.” Rae drank some cold water and gave it a thought. “I suspect that Canreto is surrounded by a group of fiends.” 

“Fiends? I know those things. Basically, everyone living on the Northern border knows them.” Stan frowned.

Rae gave him a look and retracted her gaze. “Yes, all the fiends have to do is to show themselves or attack those who leave the city, and the city will be sealed off immediately. Other than those living on the Northern border, the citizens of other kingdoms are fearful of fiends.”

“Don’t they intend to attack Canreto?” Fern asked puzzledly. 

“Although they’re fiends, it’s impossible for a small group of them to break into Canreto.” Rae looked at Fern. “After all, there are knights in Canreto whom they are most proud of.”

“Then why don’t the knights hunt the fiends proactively? Even if they’re afraid of fiends, they still can battle them head-on. After all, knights are the masters of conquering their inner fear.” Stan landed a fist on the table, which attracted Rae’s attention as their eyes met. 

Fern nodded at Stan in agreement. “Yes, I’m sure the knights in Canreto are not terrified of fiends. There must be other reasons.” After giving it a thought, he continued, “I think it’s because they’re unsure of the total number of fiends out there, so they don’t want to make a rash move.”

“That’s one possibility.” Rae replied and took one more sip of the cold water. “That’s all I know, and the rest is just my speculation.”

Just then, Niss thought of something. “Rae, how do you know all this? Did you feel it?”

“Yes, I can feel the presence of fiends, zombies and other Dark Tide armies.” Rae spoke no further. It was apparent that she wasn’t willing to explain why she could feel them.

“How did they move past Doyle and reach the Central region of Wallis?” Fern asked another question to save Rae from the embarrassment. 

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Rae immediately answered his question as though she was trying to clutch at straws. “If the fiends have covered their faces with hoods, it’s difficult to tell them apart from other travelers.”

Fern snorted. “There must be something in Canreto that the Dark Tide is afraid of.”

“Yes, maybe there’s a sacred item in Canreto that can deter the Dark Tide. So, they just have to make sure that the knights are not able to leave the city with the sacred item, and they won’t have to break into the city.” Rae said slowly as she stared at her cup of water.

Then, all of them fell silent and went on to have their food. Just like how uncertain their future was, their shadows, cast by an oil lamp, flickered on the wall. 

In the middle of the night, apart from the sound of the waves caused by Princess Merry, no other sound could be heard. The entire White River fell into dead silence. Most of the people on the ship were asleep. Other than the chief mate and the seaman who was keeping watch at the top of the masts, Fern was also looking around anxiously on the deck. The bright moon allowed him to clearly see the shores in the distance. There didn’t seem to be any imminent threat, but he was still worried.

“Sir, there’s a thick fog one mile from here!” the seaman at the top of the masts shouted at the chief mate suddenly, which was quite ear-piercing in this quiet night. 

The chief mate looked ahead in puzzlement. “Are you sure, Hagen? There isn’t supposed to be any fog.”

“I’m sure. The entire surface of the river is engulfed in it!” Hagen yelled in response. 

The chief mate frowned and gave it a thought. Then, he shouted something into the speaking tube and ran to the bow before he picked up a telescope and looked through the device anxiously. 

Fern followed him to the bow and saw that there was a thick fog in the distance. “I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen,” Fern said to him.

The chief mate shot him a look and said in exasperation, “If you really think so, you’d better wake up your companions.”

After that, the captain stepped out of the cabin with a displeased expression and yelled at the chief mate, “My friend, if you can’t prove that it’s absolutely necessary to wake me up, then I won’t give you any payment for this trip!”

Just then, Hagen shouted flusteredly, “That fog seems to be coming at us.”

“What the heck?! There isn’t supposed to be any fog.” The captain took the telescope from the chief mate and saw that the fog was approaching them, so he cursed under his breath and told the chief mate, “Hurry up. Wake up everyone and tell them to come to the deck!”

After the chief mate went to execute the captain’s order, Fern dashed into the cabin to wake up his companions. Still feeling sleepy, Niss and Rae followed Fern to the deck. Meanwhile, Stan was already waiting for them on the deck.

“What is that?” Niss asked as she gazed at the approaching fog. 

“It seems that it’s no ordinary fog. It has only covered the surface of the river, but we can still clearly see the land in the distance,” Stan turned around and said.

Fern frowned and turned to Rae. “Can you feel anything?”

Rae was equally perplexed. After slight contemplation, she replied, “No, I don’t think it’s the Dark Tide, but…” She closed her eyes and scowled. “There’s some residue of magic in the fog. It’s created from magic.”

“What do you mean? Did someone create this fog to engulf us in it?” Fern shifted his attention to the fog, which was now a hundred yards away from them.

“Yes, and that person is not far away from us,” Rae answered and turned to Niss.

Niss nodded in agreement. “This fog isn’t dangerous. What’s dangerous is the thing inside it. Only a high-level magician can create a fog of this scale.”

“It seems that we’re in trouble.” Fern sneered and grabbed his sheath with his left hand. “My hunch was right, but it just came a little late.”

The seamen were ready, and the captain was in charge of the wheel. All of them were holding their breaths waiting for the fog to arrive. Thirty yards, twenty yards, ten yards… Eventually, Princess Merry was engulfed by the fog and disappeared from the river.

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